Flyers stand pat at trade deadline

Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted:
Monday, February 27, 2012, 3:02 PM

(more coming)

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Flyers stood pat at the 3 p.m. trade deadline on Monday, feeling the two recent deals they made - acquiring massive defensemen Pavel Kubina and Nick Grossman - will help make them a Stanley Cup contender.

Provided, of course, that goalie Ilya Bryzgalov gets his game in order.

"There wasn't anything pitched to us that would have made us as good a team as we are now," general manager Paul Holmgren said in a conference call from the Flyers' training facility in Voorhees.

The Flyers never came close to making a deal in the last few days, Holmgren said. Holmgren said the Flyers had inquired about making a deal for Buffalo center Paul Gaustad, but that was before they traded draft picks for Kubina and Grossman.

"The price was steep," he said of a propsed deal for Gaustad, who was dealt to Nashville on Monday for a first-round draft pick. (Nashville also received a fourth-rounder.)

The Flyers lead the NHL by averaging 3.3 goals per game; they are 27th out of 30 teams in goals allowed (2.98 per game).

"A couple weeks ago, we felt we lacked something on the back end with Chris Pronger (sidelined)," Holmgren said. "And we addressed it."

Holmgren said the Flyers' defensive shortcoming were "a function of how we're playing, still a little loosey-goosey. Our goaltending has to be better."

Winger James van Riemsdyk and defenseman Matt Carle (a prospective free agent) are probably the most relieved Flyers; their names had been bandied about in trade rumors.

One national hockey writer said San Jose offered goalie Antti Niemi for van Riemsdyk, but the Flyers turned it down.

Said Holmgren: "James is signed here for a long time. You can't do anything about teams calling about him."

As for Carle, Holmgren said he hopes to re-sign the puck-moving defenseman, a player who is one of the team's top shot-blockers.

Earlier in the day, the Flyers sent forward Eric Wellwood to Adirondack so he would be on their playoff roster. If he stayed with the Flyers at Monday’s trade deadline, he would have had to remain on their roster for the rest of the season.

Wellwood could be recalled. Teams are allowed four recalls until their minor-league season is finished.

Without Wellwood, the Flyers have about $1.5 million in cap space. They could pick up someone off waivers (though they would have to drop someone to get to the 50-player limit), but that player would not be eligible for the playoffs because he would have been added after the trade deadline.

The Flyers, who will play in San Jose on Tuesday, did not pursue a backup goalie.